MTNL sees 50% landline users opting for broadband in 18 months

New Delhi: State-owned telecom firm MTNL is looking to convert nearly 50 per cent of its fixed line users into broadband subscribers over the next 18 months, as part of plans to increase revenue and retain customers.

At present, nearly 34 per cent of its fixed line customers are also its broadband subscribers.

"In the next 1.5 years, we should gun for 50 per cent of landline customer base becoming broadband enabled customers for us...and that should be driving force for us," MTNL Chairman and Managing Director P K Purwar told .

Terming broadband as a "flagship" offering for Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), Purwar noted at present large number of the corporation's landline customers do not subscribe to its broadband services.

"So, we will be pursuing with them (to sell broadband services) such that the percentage of the broadband customers can also be increased. It will not only increase our revenue but the customer retention will also be better," he added.

The company also plans to take the broadband equipment closer to subscriber premises and has recently "revisited" tariffs plans to tune them with the varying customer requirements, he added.

"To improve broadband speeds, we have installed 140 DSLAMs in Delhi, and 150 in Mumbai in 2016-17. We are looking at similar numbers for 2017-18 so that the customer who are being provided broadband services should be within 1-1.5 kms from our DSLAM areas or broadband equipment areas and hence get better experience," Purwar said.

Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer or DSLAM is a network devices that connects customer digital subscriber lines to a high-speed digital communications channels.

MTNL has 15 lakh landline subscribers in Delhi and 18 lakh in Mumbai, while its mobile subscriber base is pegged at 35 lakh in the two metros combined. The corporation has over 20 broadband plans, said Purwar.

He said that MTNL is talking to customer to better understand their requirements.

"We customise broadband packs for different price points... We believe that we should cater to all kinds of customers...from those with higher data usage to students," he said.

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After PSU banks, the government is likely to infuse capital in two chronically ill telecom PSUs BSNL and MTNL, and the Union Cabinet is likely to take a decision on 4G spectrum allocation to them by the third week of the current month after DoT places the note before it for consideration.

At a high-level meeting at the PMO late Tuesday, it was also decided that the two telcos will frame a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) to reduce their employee strength, which will be followed by a reduction in the retirement age to 58.